


Love Survive! School Idol Mafia

by PanzerCakes



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-23 09:40:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11399976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PanzerCakes/pseuds/PanzerCakes
Summary: Despite winning Love Live and saving their school from closure, Otonokizaka High is now out of the frying pan and into the fire. Honoka soon discovers the underground criminal schoolgirl operations working right under their noses threatening them once more. Joining forces with arms dealers, drug smugglers and a school like them, µ's unites to save their school one more time.





	1. All for Naught

The pink snow coming from the trees scattered among the floor as Honoka and her two best friends swish them aside during their commute. It had been a while since their upperclassmen had graduated, and all the tears had been cried out now. Even then, the atmosphere seemed a little dismal. It didn't feel the same without Nico, Eli and Nozomi.

"How long do you think the school's going to last after this?" Kotori asks, using her right foot to play with a stray red pebble. Honoka chuckles, but says nothing.

"Hopefully long enough for everyone to graduate normally. Who knows how long it'll take anyone to get that far again?" Umi admits. It indeed was a long time. They managed to get through it anyways, but they doubt such an amazing feat could be replicated by another group. μ's relied a lot on luck and charm to get their way up the ranks, not that that was always a bad thing. "Think someone's gonna try to claim our throne?" Umi remarks sarcastically. Honoka laughs this time.

"Who knows? That one blonde from the primary school's probably gonna try it out," the redhead comments. She waves at a car as the triad cross an intersection. Umi looks at her, confused.

"Who?"

"You mean Alisa? Eli little sister?" Kotori mentions. The red pebble ricochet's off of a lamp post and back under Kotori's feet, stopping their walk momentarily.

"I doubt she'll gain any traction," Honoka says coldly, glancing at the little pebble for delaying their walk to school.

"Honoka! That's mean!" the brunette berates her friend lightly. Umi was the one to laugh.

"Well, I can't disagree with that," the archer remarks. "It's not like competition's getting lighter."

"It's amazing we got that far in the first place..." Honoka thinks back to the first dance practice she ever had. It was by herself, doing basic rhythmic steps, but they were the first steps to a journey she never imagined undertaking. They could've made a local bakery, or started an e-sports team, or participated in sensha-dou, but this was the one Honoka stuck with. Dying, desperate schools seemed to be common around Japan.

"How do you think those three are doing now?" Honoka says out of nowhere, her thoughts absorbed deep in her own memories of her upperclassmen. "I mean, do you...ever talk to them?" The whole group falls silent as they wait for the green light.

"...I don't know about the other girls, but..." Kotori trails off, hinting at the feared inevitable. The death of μ's was the one thing they have been and continue to bury deep within their minds in hopes of forgetting about it. But somehow, whenever they reach into their memory for an event, or think about anything in the past two years, the gravestone of μ's always resurfaces, one way or another. The three silently continue their walk up to the school gates.

Kotori kicks the rock at an angle and finds its way in the middle of traffic. "Nico's taking it the hardest."

"I would assume so," Umi says. "Maybe after we all graduate we can be idols again." Despite saying that, the atmosphere remained unchanged. There was just something about being a school idol that would have its charm taken away if they were regular idols instead.

The three girls congregate outside during lunch. Without forcibly restraining herself, Honoka bites down happily into her bread. The two around her ask Honoka how she manages to afford that much bread, to which she responds with an indifferent shrug. While the reward for Love Live was nothing impressive, Honoka and the rest of μ's weren't "poor" anymore because of it. Kotori and Umi believe this is Honoka's way of showing that μ's won Love Live, or that Honoka just like's bread.

Before Honoka got a chance to argue her point, the school-wide intercom rang throughout the school. The one behind the microphone was the chairwoman. "Students of Otonokizaka High," she spoke with a stern, emotionless, cold voice. Knowing her, Kotori knew something was up. All previous activity around the school froze. It was eerily punctual, almost as if time suddenly froze with the sound of the intercom.

"I am, saddened to inform you once again, that the school is undergoing the process of consolidation once more." The chairwoman's voice was surprisingly calm given the situation. The presently upperclassmen of μ's were now the center of attention, almost as if the students around them were expecting a violent reaction, with Honoka shaking her fist at the microphone and requiring the rest of the group to restrain her. All they got were expressions of confusion. "I understand that there might be some questions among you that need to be answered. This is why the Student Council will be having a meeting after school in order to discuss this matter. I repeat, the Student Council will be having a meeting after school in order to discuss this matter."

Honoka, being the Student Council President, already had plenty of responsibilities. This would just have to be another one of them. She stared blankly ahead. "What's wrong, Honoka?" Kotori whispers to her friend. Unsurprisingly, Honoka started to tear up. Wiping her eyes with her sleeves, she collects herself.

"It's okay."

The redhead repeats the mangry of denial to herself over and over again. It was hard on the remaining μ's members, and the ones that graduated would most likely be disappointed as well, but they all knew that Honoka would be the most affected of them all. She had worked the hardest, the one that did what the others didn't, and saved the school in numerous desperate struggles. Nevertheless, it all didn't mean anything. It simply prolonged the death of the school, rather than save it.

"Come on, Honoka," Umi says, motioning Kotori to help her take Honoka to the idol research club meeting room.

"Are you gonna be alright, Honoka?" Kotori pats Honoka's back gently as Umi brings her a tin of tea. The shock from the announcement had still gripped Honoka into a frozen state, unable to say or move if she wasn't directed by her friends. They were expecting her to burst out of emotion any moment, but she remained still. Gradually, but eventually, she began to cry.

Her crying led to sobbing, and her sobbing led to bawling. The others around her were beginning to cry as well, but Honoka was growing out of control. "Honoka, please, I know it's hard, but don't-" Umi was cut off by the now raging Honoka.

"And what are they gonna do about it, huh? What can they do? We're powerless, we're nothing. Everything we did was useless, all useless..." Umi stands up.

"Honoka, understand that you aren't the only person angry about this. We don't know, we might be able to fix it!"

"How? How can you just brush off the fact that everything we worked up for until now was just a waste of time?" Kotori joins in, wishing to stop the conversation if it ever turned into an argument. "And now μ's is gone! We can't fix it anymore!"

"Now, we saved the school, even if it was just for a year, we-"

"They don't get it. Two whole years of my life I could have...I could have put to something useful. Something else where I could have made a difference, but I...they...someone..." Honoka realized that she was trying to find someone to blame, something to pin the crime on. "I wasted my own time." Umi's eyes narrowed even further, slamming the table and lightly rattling everything on it. Kotori was taken back with surprise, but Honoka didn't react, knowing that this was going to be the same as when they failed to join Love Live last time.

"Stop feeling bad for yourself, Honoka. How many times do I have to repeat myself? You think you're the only one that worked for this?" Umi yells back, causing Honoka to shrink deeper into her seat. "I can't believe you'd just give up at the drop of a hat. Like last time. Please, Honoka. Get a hold of yourself." Umi walks out the door, leaving the two alone in the club meeting room.

"Honoka..." Kotori began, but stopped herself, realizing that the former needed time alone.

The school bell rang, and the Student Council convened at the meeting room like they had been for the past few months. The Student Council had been the only serious thing Honoka was working towards other than µ's, but now she felt unprepared. Was she going to have to deliver a speech? How come she wasn't notified of the school shutting down so abruptly? Looking out the window, Honoka saw the students leave in confusion. It struck her as odd how none of them were angry, or despondent. 'It's just me, isn't it?' she thinks to herself.

As always, she was about fifteen seconds late. Everyone had already sat down when Honoka entered the room. This time, she didn't force herself to hold a furtive expression. "Honoka," the chairwoman spoke. Honoka bowed in apology.

"I apolo-"

The chairwoman dismisses her with a wave of her hand. By the look of it, the chairwoman didn't look very pleased. Not at Honoka, but at the situation. "Come, sit. There's no time to waste."

'This isn't like her...' Honoka thinks, taking an awkward empty chair in the corner of the room.

"We're here to discuss the closure and consolidation of the school," the chairwoman begins the meeting. "There isn't much time left before the new management comes in and takes my place, but keep in mind that all students are permitted to remain. They will have to re-enroll for the next term, however." A stray hand in the circle flies up.

"Yes?"

"Do we know who the management taking over will be?" The chairwoman sighed miserably.

"Yes. UTX will be taking Otonokizaka property as their own." A low murmur started within the bunch. "Now, keep in mind, this isn't the first time that UTX has done this. They're expanding their territory outside their main complex. This is not a personal move, it's simply business." Everyone reluctantly agreed. Another hand rose from the crowd.

"How much time are we given to move on?" a student asks with anxious eyes.

"Until the end of this term." The murmur rose to a frenzy in a matter of seconds. There was only a month left. How come they weren't given enough time to prepare?

"Mrs. Chairwoman," Honoka says, freezing the frenzy in place. All eyes were on her. "If I remember correctly, this is against school protocol." The chairwoman sighs again, nodding in confirmation.

"Correct. It is against school protocol for this kind of ordeal to take place with only a month in advance. But, please, understand, that this matter is beyond my power." Honoka raised an eyebrow.

"Beyond your power? You run this school. Surely you had a choice of whether or not it was handed over," Honoka replies. The students around her sat down and looked in anticipation at the chairwoman. Honoka sounded peculiarly calm and intelligent under such duress.

"I..." For once, the chairwoman's professional attitude was left in shambles. She looked nervous, her eyes darting back and forth at each student, who returned the same look of anticipation. "W-Well, I can't help the budget if it doesn't cooperate..."

'Stammering, huh?' Honoka thought to herself. She wanted to just roll over and give up, but she wouldn't let herself do it. Everything she had worked for was riding on keeping the school alive, and this moment. "So there was money involved in this as well?" The chairwoman knew that she was in a corner.

"We've always...had this issue, Honoka. UTX will take care of this school...and..." None of the students were buying it. If they wanted to go to UTX, they would have gone there. They knew that the tuition would skyrocket, the culture would change, and all hopes of a quiet, normal, old-fashioned high school would be gone. They wanted this school and this school only.

"Anyways, all clubs will be preparing to conclude their activities and projects as we begin to shut down the school-"

"You can't do this to us!" One of the students shouted across the room. Their sudden voice cracked the tense air, and the room was back into its chaotic state. Everyone yelling over each other, some of them angry, others sad, but most of them confused. Honoka sat there in her seat, waiting for the frenzy to die down. She wasn't done with the chairwoman yet.

"Everyone, please!" The chairwoman's warnings and attempts of recollection were futile. With the world falling apart at the seams, the chairwoman jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Although she couldn't hear her, the chairwoman read Honoka's lips.

"Why?" The chairwoman's expression was blank and unfeeling, as if the stress had finally mentally broken her to the point where emotions no longer exist. Perhaps she was exaggerating. The moment her eyes met Honoka's, her empty eyes were filled with fear. Her pleading expression was confirmed with her,

"I'm very sorry."

The chairwoman stood up, and the entire Student Council froze again. The legs of her chair squeaked noticeably in the silence. Slowly, she walked out the door. "Meeting adjourned."


	2. Two Sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honoka already has made plans to resolve the current issue, however, Umi believes otherwise. Which side does Kotori choose?

"What?!"

Kotori exclaimed it, leaving Umi and Honoka in silence, but for different reasons. They were walking home as usual, but all of the girls were different. "M-Mom would never..."

"Come on, Kotori. This isn't just about money," Honoka says. "Something else is up. I can sense it." Umi sighs.

"I know you always have these crazy ideas, but, Honoka-" Honoka stops in the middle of their walk, forcing them all to stand in place. It had begun to rain. Honoka's eyes were set to the clouds.

"I don't know how, but I'll prove it." The others had already deployed their umbrellas, and were standing next to their friend, who was starting to cry again. "I'll prove it, and I'll do anything it takes to stop it. Even if it means I have to fail Love Live again and again!"

"Honoka, come on...this isn't the place to break down like this..." Umi slung Honoka's right arm over the former's shoulder, propping them both up appropriately. Awkward glances from across the street were cast their way. "Let's get out of this rain..."

They were sitting awkwardly around the table in Honoka's room, silently waiting for her to say something. Every once in a while, Umi and Kotori would cast defensive glances at Honoka, as if she was going to burst out any moment, and then glance at each other in anxiety. They felt like they were sitting next to a ticking time bomb that none of them could defuse.

Honoka mumbles, catching them all by surprise. "I think we need to figure out why she's closing the school." Umi sighs, not wanting to repeat herself. Kotori fully understood as well, and didn't want to hurt their friend. "Come on, I know one of you agrees with me. Kotori?" The sound of her name catches her by surprise.

"Huh?"

"I can't be the only one seeing something deeper. Umi?" Umi started to say something, but stopped herself. Perhaps this was another one of Honoka's delusional spells of denial. Something about this one felt different, something eerie behind it enough to make Umi shiver. She felt a deadly seriousness emanating from Honoka's voice. Honoka wasn't desperately clawing for someone to take her side, she was searching for the truth, a truth she gravely knows is there.

A part of Umi wanted to believe her, and not just so Honoka could calm down, but Umi risked falling into another endeavor she fears she will regret. Yet again, she went along with the school idol group, and yet that was arguably one of the best experiences she's had in her life. Perhaps this adventure, whatever it may entail, might not be as bad.

Honoka took their silences and intent stares as an invitation to explain herself. "I just found it interesting that UTX is a part of this. Why would they be interested in this part of town?"

"Maybe because it's an old competitor?" Kotori suggests. Honoka nods, but isn't satisfied with the answer. Somehow, Umi and Kotori felt that nothing was going to answer her question.

"It still doesn't explain why there's such a need for money. We shouldn't be at the verge of giving up the school because 'we're out of money'," Honoka's voice didn't sound natural. At this point, the other two had given up trying to reason with her. Honoka may be determined, but she can also be stubborn as a result. Honoka's emotional grip was strong, and denial was certainly pulling her strings at the moment. Kotori and Umi wordlessly decided that she be best left alone.

"U-Uh...sorry, Honoka, but, I have to get to my archery..." Umi excuses, motioning Kotori to do the same.

"I have...to go too..." How unrealistic it sounded didn't matter. Honoka realized she was rambling.

"S-Sorry..." Before their sense of belonging got a hold of them, the other two excused themselves and hurriedly left in unison. Their silence was enough to lock Honoka up by herself.

Soon enough, Honoka found herself with her friends the next morning. The tense, awkward air forced them to the brink of fleeing from each other. Umi looked at Kotori for support, but the latter shrugged her shoulders in silence. Maybe Honoka was right about this, or maybe Kotori and Umi were just being too nice to her. The walk to school, usually bursting with excited conversation talking about anything they could possibly think of turned into a dismal silence.

"Hey, Honoka, wake up! Class is over!" The redhead's senses slowly reactivated as she felt Kotori's gentle but stern grip shaking her awake. "Come on, I thought we were done with being idols. How can you just sleep like this?" Honoka's hand reached around and grabbed Kotori, using her as a sort of rail to get on her feet.

"S-Sorry about that, Umi..." Before objecting, Kotori stops herself, noting her friend's current vegetative state.

"I know you're always procrastinating, so we better get to the student council room and finish up the papers for-" Kotori tugged on her friend's arm, motioning the latter to follow her, but Honoka didn't budge from her spot. There was no doubt Honoka was wide awake at this point, but her silence scared Kotori. After a moment of silence and a depressed sigh, Honoka followed Kotori out of the room and into the office Nozomi and Eli used to inhabit. Of course, all of their things had been cleaned by the time Honoka took Eli's place, but there's no doubt she could feel their presence every once in a while.

Midway through their work, Honoka asks Kotori, "Kotori, do you know where the Tennis Club budget spreadsheet is?"

"Sure..." the latter responds with unconvincing enthusiasm. Being left in a room with a somewhat angry, somewhat sad Honoka while Umi was gone didn't leave the best impression of security for Kotori. Handing Honoka the chart, Honoka looks it up and down to confirm it was the right sheet and stops herself. "Wh-What? Is it the right one?"

"Y-Yeah...I just wondered..." Kotori thought Honoka was going to let it go, but, much to her dismay, Honoka says,

"Why has the budget not gone down...at all?" Kotori nervously smiles and laughs, not wanting to get involved. But, judging by Honoka's expression, she knew that the redhead wasn't letting it go. "Wait, look, the budget for the Tennis Club has only gone up since...since this February!"

Kotori glanced at the bottom of the table and, sure enough, the total allocated budget for the Tennis Club has indeed increased, much higher than the ordinary threshold of a club activity. Honoka grabs another budget spreadsheet. The Art Club also followed a similar increase in funds. So did the Computer Club, and the Swim Club, and so on. Every club was steadily given more and more each progressive month. Even Kotori found it peculiar.

"Then why don't they ever say anything about it? Aren't clubs one of the first things funds are reduced? We can't be the only ones that found this out," Kotori asks, genuinely curious for herself. Honoka's eyes went wide with an opportunity to fit her conspiracy theory into this.

"It's because the school's being extorted by UTX!" Kotori wanted to laugh, she really did, but the utter graveness on Honoka's face would kill the mood. "How come they never feel the effects of their club budget being increased then? Don't they just keep asking for us to up it a little more every time we all meet?" As right as Honoka was, Kotori wasn't ready to believe that they were being forced to bankruptcy, especially out of a respectable establishment like UTX.

"What do you mean it doesn't make sense? Haven't you heard? UTX took two more schools in neighboring prefectures, just this week! Please, Kotori. Think about it. They're growing and growing, but when will they stop? They're taking all of Japan now-"

"I-I really don't think..." Kotori quieted down when she noticed that Honoka wasn't going to be listening to her. The latter was in deep rumination, her eyebrows furrowed in thought and her hand holding her chin.

"Proof."

Kotori looked up from the work she resumed. "Huh?"

"You want proof, don't you?" Kotori sheepishly grins again, resounding an obvious "yes". "Very well. I'll give you proof."

"And how do you suppose you'll do that?" The sharp sound of Umi's slightly disgruntled voice caught them both by surprise, but Honoka's tone didn't waver. "I totally forgot we had this to do, sorry to abandon you guys like that." While Kotori forgave Umi, Honoka cut in.

"Just give me this one chance, and I'll prove to you that UTX has something to do with it." With eyes of skepticism and doubt, the two reluctantly listened to their former idol leader.

"A-Are..." Much to their surprise, Honoka's wacky plan did manage to leave them speechless.

"Well...I don't know, my mom doesn't really like to talk about business to me that much."

"And on top of that, why would we do something like that?" Umi adds, making Honoka sigh, acting as if it was the two of them that didn't understand her, rather than the other way around.

"It's not...illegal. It is for the greater good, isn't it?" Honoka replies. Umi fumes.

"Don't even think that you can pull something so ridiculous like that on-"

"Come on, just this one chance. This one chance and I'll stop bothering you again. I'll never mention UTX and their plans of world domination ever. Please? I know I can do this!" Just by the pleading sound of her voice, Umi already doesn't trust her. Whenever the redhead gets desperate, she tends to depend on the mercy of others to get her way. Not today, despite how tempting the thought of her returning to reality felt.

"Kotori, think really hard about this. Are you sure the end goal is meeting the intended purpose? What if it fails? Then what? Don't you see the disparity between the risk and the reward?" Umi urged the brunette to make the right decision, but what the right decision is unfortunately didn't fall into Umi's hands.

"Uh..." Kotori always had a small inclination to do investigative work since she was a little kid. Other than fashion designing, the thought of solving mysteries with minimal evidence and meager hints piqued her interest. But this was different. This wasn't the case of who ate the pudding, or where the toy went. "Well...I..."

Yet again, she wants to know more herself. Honoka wasn't the only one that wanted to find the truth behind the situation. Perhaps she wasn't willing to acknowledge the opportunity to find the truth in fear that she would fail, or that she wouldn't be trying hard enough, or that she would be caught in a downward spiral to crime. After all, Kotori's academic situation was at a tense tightrope at the moment. Was doing this worth it in the end? Was she doing it for the greater good and discovering the truth, or for herself?

"I...I'll do it..." Situations in which Kotori had to choose sides were very slim. The thought of leaving her school, the pressure by Honoka, the mental state of her friend and her dream of investigation had all played a part of her decision. Obviously, her indeciveness and the hot glare from Umi made her regret her choice immediately, but what's said's been said.

Umi slams her hand down. "I'm not letting this happen. You both know it." Despite her anger between both Honoka and Kotori, she put her friends above anything. The last thing she wanted them to do was to hurt themselves. "Please, listen to yourselves for a minute! Do you realize what you're making yourselves do?" she says desperately. Despite her friend's desperation, Honoka was too deep into her fantasy to listen. Was it just her fantasy that was blinding her, or something else?

Kotori and Umi leave a while after Honoka does. The two best friends were by themselves in front of the school, the sunset reminiscently glinting on the windows. "I'm not going to be friends with a criminal," Umi says flatly, staring forward at the ground as she kept walking. It felt strange, suddenly transitioning from begging her friends to suddenly denouncing them. Kotori wasn't sure if she meant it at first, but Umi was dead silent. "You either choose me or Honoka. I'm not putting myself through this. Not anymore."

Kotori was left alone as her friend walked off to the street. Umi felt bad about this too, her pace turning into a heavy trudge, who had gone from pleading her friends to stop to detaching herself from them. Kotori had never had such a grave fate put upon her like this. First, μ's was disbanding, now her one circle of friends might be as well. Her mind was racing with only one question in her mind.

"Did I do the right thing?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been asked what kind of mafia this story was based around. If any of you have seen The Godfather (and if you haven't, you should), this is more of what this is going for. An underground, organized, Sicilian syndicate. This one is a little more goal-based however, as you will see later on.
> 
> Thanks anyways,  
> -DWalkthroughGuy


	3. First Operation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Kotori reluctantly agrees to join Honoka's exploits, Honoka might have found exactly what she was looking for.

Honoka was standing outside the school office, leaning against the wall. She looked calm in the outside, waiting coolly outside for her friend, but her nerves refused to die down. School and club activities had ended over fifteen minutes ago. The sound of soft, fluttering footsteps echoed in the corridor. In Honoka's anxiety, the echoes turned into earthquakes. Honoka snaps her head to the source of the steps. It was Kotori.

"A-Alright. Ready?" Judging from the tone of her voice, Honoka wasn't the only nervous one. Kotori's voice had a tinge of regret neither of them could notice. Honoka had in her hands a mask from the theater club room and a pair of black gloves. "I know it's...a little overboard but..." Honoka considered it, and complied in the end. She couldn't risk losing what little she had left after μ's disbanded.

"She should be in there...I'll get her out," Kotori says almost inaudibly, opening the door slowly. The click of the door handle rang throughout the entirety of the school. This was the moment Honoka realized that there's no turning back. They either go through with this or not.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step," Honoka's mother plays in her head. Tightening her fist, she vowed to never back down, as long as she and Otonokizaka stood.

But was resolving that that easy?

The door closes and Honoka returns to reality. Choosing an inconspicuous part of the hallway, she waits outside as she listens to the muffled conversation of Kotori and her mother. A moment of contemplation passed before the door finally swung back open. "Yeah, over in the gym somewhere," Kotori urges, her mother, the chairwoman, following closely behind. "Oh, hey Honoka," Kotori huffs as she brushes past the redhead. The one glance Honoka received was one of pleading fear. Kotori pleaded that Honoka would do this right, praying that she would follow through. Kotori had already risked Umi's friendship for this.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Miname," Honoka nods respectfully to the chairwoman, who nods briefly in return. Honoka walks past them and catches the door just before it closes. After checking both directions, she slips inside the office, slipping on the mask which thankfully covered her hair and shut the door behind her.

Honoka takes a deep breath as she oversees the office. She had been in here numerous times, all to confront either the student council, the chairwoman or both. Sometimes she stood with her friends, sometimes she stood alone. Months of nostalgia all came flooding in a span of seconds. After glancing quickly at the room, she concluded that there weren't any hidden surveillance cameras. Before she had a second to think about the lack of security, she takes her mask off. Honoka takes another deep breath before walking behind the desk. Now was the hard part.

She rifles through each filing cabinet, or at least, each one that didn't require a key. They were mostly student files and government papers; nothing of interest. Honoka kept searching, but as each file cabinet was closed, she could've sworn a footstep was outside the door. She resolved to stop pausing to check for ambient sounds unless it was for sure. After covering the entire wall and the desk cabinets, she had nowhere else to look. She thoroughly checked each file carefully, being sure to meticulously double check the titles of the files and the composition of the paper. Nothing seemed to be important. Maybe she kept evidence at home. Instead of feeling an overwhelming dread, she sighed in preaccepted defeat. Honoka half expected something like this to happen. She'd just have to find another way next time, whenever that would be.

Honoka decided she'd sit down on the chair just for the fun of it. Kotori wouldn't return for a while, Honoka figured, and thought that she'd at least feel the chair while she was here. If she was caught, there was nothing to lose. Honoka already had an excuse figured out.

"They sure are taking a while..." Honoka muses, sorting some of the papers on the desk in front of her. That's when she saw it. A formal letter adressed to Otonokizaka from UTX high school. The whole time she had searched, and the answer was right in front of her. Quickly falling silent to check for footsteps, she delves into the letter. She was only skimming, but it was proof enough. This wasn't a professional letter, this was a desperate note.

"'ask for the rights of the property else we take legal action to do...'" Honoka kept reading, not caring anymore if anyone was catching her. Then it hit her. Otonokizaka wasn't closing due to insufficient financial funds. They were being extorted.

"I got it..." Honoka smiles, wondering why something so confidential was laying out in the open like this. Perhaps Kotori made a convincing enough of an emergency to abandon whatever the chairwoman was working on. "Thanks Kotori, whatever that emergency is," Honoka whispers, taking multiple pictures with her phone. Standing up and cleaning up the place, she hurriedly leaves the office, checking the coast and then closing the door silently behind her as best she could. Before Honoka took some time to reflect on the reason behind it, she immediately runs for the exit, not wanting to risk getting caught.

"I got it!" Honoka jumps as she exits the school, holding her phone proudly in the air. The feeling of victory surged over her. She texts Kotori an unobtrusive and innocent message acting as a signal of success. Once the feeling faded away and she got home, Honoka thought of what this meant. The school being extorted by one of the most influential and largest educational powerhouses in all of Japan? Why would they need to do that?

Honoka decided to send this to all of her friends, even Nozomi, Eli and Nico. While Eli was back in Russia, the other two were still here in Japan. "This is the start," Honoka involuntary says aloud. Even she didn't know what she was starting. A conspiracy? A revolution?

Only ten seconds later she gets a text back from Umi. "What is this?" it read. "What did you do?"

"I was in the office when the papers were there," Honoka replies, which wasn't far from the truth.

"This is confidential information, Honoka," Umi sends at a speed suggesting that she didn't read Honoka's message. The redhead sighs.

'I guess we're both stubborn in our own ways,' Honoka thinks to herself, typing another text.

"Just read it." After that, the chat fell silent. Perhaps Umi was really reading it. Meanwhile, Honoka gets a text from Maki.

"Fake," it read plainly. That exact word also came from Hanayo, Nozomi and Nico. 'There's gonna be a lot of explaining to do...' Honoka groans, getting her thumbs ready.

After some time most everyone was online and on the group chat, anyone that wasn't in on it was confused. "Everyone, I got this earlier in school," Honoka says. Two seconds later, the chat was alive.

"Where?"

"Wait what's happening"

"Fake"

"wait is this actually happening I'm confused"

"Where's Eli..."

"faaake"

"Honoka where did you get that"

Honoka breaks in, "I don't know what this means for everyone..."

"Otonokizaka is being extorted by UTX." Umi had said it, promptly killing the chat. "It means we're being forced to give up our school to them." Umi's tone was somber, but that alone probably wasn't enough to convince her. After all, she had remained adamant that Honoka and Kotori stay away from the situation. "There's nothing we can do."

"What do you mean?" Rin asks. "We're just going to give up?"

"It's obviously fake," Maki adds.

"why would it be fake?" Nozomi interrupts, not being one for skepticism.

"Why would a professional establishment like that even need otono anyways?" Maki stands her ground. "There's no reason for them to be doing that."

"no reason that we know of yet," Nozomi retorts.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Where was it Honoka?" Umi inquires, ignoring the two arguing. "Where did you find the papers?"

"On the front desk. In the office. I swear, it was right on top," Honoka silences the group again.

Umi has left the chat.

"EVERYONE!" Rin screamed the following day. All six of the members gather round the front of the school, under the tree where Honoka always eats her bread. "Did you hear the news?!"

"Some other school near the ocean's being taken by UTX!" Hanayo says on cue.

"Urano...hoshi, or something..." Kotori whispers, trying to remember the name.

"And someone submitted Honoka's picture to the police!" Rin continues.

"What?!" they all shriek in unison. Everyone, especially Umi, who was glaring daggers into Honoka.

"It wasn't me! Really!"

"Then who did it?" Maki says, almost indifferently, as she twirls her hair.

"Honoka..." Umi grumbles through her teeth.

"It wasn't me! I wouldn't joke about something-"

"I don't think it was her, Umi..." Kotori mumbles, mostly in fear.

"They can track down your phone, you know," Maki adds, not really sure what side she's on. "Everyone in the chat is a suspect." The painful truth emerged. The group couldn't even trust each other.

"Are you sure you didn't send it to anyone else?" Kotori asks with her fists under her chin. Honoka violently shakes her head. "This is serious..." At this point everyone was talking and arguing over each other.

"We have to tell someone!" Hanayo pipes up.

"No!" everyone says simultaneously. Before the conversation had a chance to start back up again, the bell rang, signaling the end of their lunch period. The girls awkwardly split apart without a word, all of them terribly distressed.

On their usual route home, the three third-years remained silent, mostly in part of the fact that Umi disapproved of everything that's happened as of far. The uncomfortable silence didn't stop when they dropped Honoka off, where they parted ways silently. Standing at the entrance of the candy shop doubling as Honoka's home was someone familiar.

Their presence gave Honoka a shock. "Ts-Tsubasa..." The former rival of A-RISE Kira Tsubasa was standing there in wait. She was by herself.

"Am old friend from UTX was looking for you today, Honoka," Honoka's mother called from within the store. "She's been here for a while so make her feel welcome!"

"Long time, no see, Honoka," Kira said in near perfect English. Honoka was speechless at first. Her mind immediately focused on what happened in the news. UTX would surely have taken action, especially after A-RISE adopted the management company they talked to Honoka about. Of course, that was only a few months ago.

"Y-Yeah...sure has..." They both head to Honoka's room, sitting across from each other. Tsubasa's demeanor was confident in whatever mission she was sent on with a mix of arrogance thrown in. There was no way she would meander into the house of a commoner without a reason to do so. "So..."

"I heard your group split up after the third years graduated," Kira said without expecting a nerve to be struck. Honoka gulped and nodded. "What a shame. I'm sure you would've settled high up on the ladder. Maybe even next to us." Honoka didn't remember Kira being like this. Sure, she was competitive during Love Live!, but she never was patronizing in any way. Perhaps that was just a ruse. "I'm sorry if I sound condescending," Kira says as if she read Honoka's mind. "But I can't help but marvel how long it's been since we've met."

The room fell silent again. Honoka's hands were at her lap, and so were her eyes. She couldn't help but look down. One of the most powerful celebrities in all of Japan's idol industry was sitting right in front of her without even one suited guard to watch. It almost felt like she was here to help Honoka with something menial, like homework.

"I'm sure you've heard the news about the papers sent to your high school." Here, Honoka froze and looked up. Tsubasa's expression didn't budge. Her slightly demeaning half-smile was still staring right into the redhead. It almost scared Honoka how confident Kira was. "Do you, in fact, know how that ever came to light?" Honoka immediately shook her head.

"No, no, I don't." Tsubasa almost laughed, but stifled herself when she looked back up to Honoka's blue, fearful eyes. Tsubasa's ever-present smirk returned to fruition.

"No? Well, let me assure you it isn't what you think it is." Honoka couldn't help but notice how calm Kira's tone was. It all sounded so fluent to her, like it was an unnaturally scripted conversation. "The wording makes it sound like we're forcing the school to shut down for our sake. I should clarify that that is not the intent of UTX. We're a professional establishment that would never resort to those tactics. That letter that was shown was a fake. I can assure you." Honoka wasn't sure whether or not to believe her. "And, if you don't believe me, watch tomorrow's news. You'll see exactly why."

Kira stood up directly after. "Oh, and Honoka?" The aforementioned looked up from her shoes at Kira.

"Y-Yes?"

"Your mother's anko is absolutely divine." Tsubasa slipped a sinister giggle and walked out Honoka's room. Some formalities were exchanged at the shop floor before Honoka heard the door close. Why did Kira make a special personal visit just to tell her that? Honoka's instinct told her to tell her friends, but she was still shaken by the fear the girl instilled into her. Kira didn't do or say anything that would've prompted this appropriately, it was just...something about her. The way she walked, almost as if she was floating, or the way she spoke, as if she knew very well of the words Honoka herself didn't know would utter, and even the way she looked at Honoka, scanning her every facial movement, every eye twitch, every fidget. Honoka's wasn't ready to dismiss this as just an ordinary visit.

"I'm sick of red bean paste."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is going to be thirty chapters long and should wrap up nicely. Might be able to do a chapter a week if I get lucky, so we'll see how that goes. But for now, enjoy the show.
> 
> Thanks anyways,  
> -DWalkthroughGuy

**Author's Note:**

> A funny little idea I came up with one evening and decided to double down on making. Haven't published something in ages, but it's summer vacation here, so, I'll try my best.
> 
> This is a story of mine from fanfiction.net. I've never tried Ao3 before so I decided I'll start now by using this story.
> 
> Another note: While the story is currently set after the third-years graduate in Otonokizaka, Aqours is also here in the same time as presented in Love Live Sunshine.
> 
> Thanks anyways,  
> -DWalkthroughGuy


End file.
